If None of That Happens What Does It Mean For Phil?
by Caseyrook
Summary: May travels back in time to the point after Coulson went into the Memory Machine in "The Writing on the Wall". She quickly learns that time is not repeating itself and has to decide whether to force events to be the same as they were or rewrite history. Follows Canon as much as a time travel story can.


**A/N Something i started weeks ago and just decided to work on today. Let me know what you think because i haven't thought this out much.**

May had a weird sense of what was going on. In the Present, the team had been working on a case that had the new head of HYDRA, Grant Ward, assisting a group of mad scientist type people with building a time machine.

The team had stormed their lab and May had entered a room solo.

Unfortunately that is the room that housed the time machine. All she remembered next is a big white explosion.

That is why May's sense of time was disrupted greatly as she developed a huge headache, and suppressed the feeling of nausea.

She found herself sitting in the pilot's seat of a quinjet, and suddenly felt the greatest sense of de ja vu ever.

For the second time, she heard Skye telling her through her comm that "Coulson went into the memory machine!"

That's when it all fell into place. She had traveled in time.

Thinking quickly she replied to Skye in the same way as she did before. But for a split second she remembered what happened next and what it led to. However with an uneasy feeling she took no steps to change the past.

"What!? And you let him!?"

"It wasn't my call!"

"Lock him up and keep him under observation until I get back."

And then May let the next events play out as they did the first time.

However, after finding a duct taped Bakshi in that bar, the second call she got from the Playground was not from Skye telling her that Coulson locked her in Vault D and ran away to confront another TAHITI Patient.

This time, the call was from Simmons. She had ICE'd Coulson after catching him trying to leave the base.

May panicked inside her head. If that happened it means that time has been changed, and may never be able to get on the same path that happened the first time. Meaning Coulson will not figure out that the alien map he was (is) caving led (leads) to a city in Puerto Rico, because he won't have seen it in 3D form as a trainset.

This could be bad.

Quickly she made a plan and only three hours later she found herself standing outside of the inertial barrier blocking off Vault D.

They had placed Bakshi in the Bus's cage and left Coulson in the Vault.

As he laid stretched out on the cells foamy mattress, May contemplated every scenario that could happen and compared it to what had happened.

It seriously freaked her out that the machine had sent her back in time and changed the events. But as a thought came to her, she wondered if this wasn't for the better.

With Coulson NOT figuring out the secret to the writing he has been carving on the walls, they would never go down into that city where Skye would get her powers. Thus SHIELD and Inhumans would never go to war, Simmons would never be eaten by a Kree 084 and Coulson would never lose half of his left arm.

May thought about all of this. Deep down she couldn't help but feel happy.

That is, until she realized that she was watching Coulson sleep in Vault D and remembered why.

 _If none of that happens what does it mean for Phil?_

May crossed her arms. Somehow she knew the answer and she didn't like it at all.

The matter was pushed out of her head as Coulson woke up.

He laid there blinking for a few seconds and then rose slowly and swung his legs over the mattress so he was sitting upright with his feet on the floor.

May couldn't help but enjoy the sight of him placing his _left_ hand on his forehead. ICER's cause headaches.

May wasted no time. "What in the _Hell_ were you thinking?"

Coulson looked at her for a few seconds and then looked at the floor.

He stayed quiet and May let her thoughts wander to his appearance.

Perhaps he had really freaked Skye, Fitz, Mack and Simmons out because they had taken his watch, shoes and belt. They left him only wearing his suit pants and his plain white t-shirt. Somehow he looked out of place.

After a period of thirty seconds he finally looked at May again and spoke. "It was the only way."

May eyed him confrontationally. "You should have waited for me."

Coulson lifted himself off the bed and walked to the barrier. He didn't touch it but stood with his toes only an inch away from it.

"You're right. I should have. But Sebastian Derik is out there right now targeting the last T.A.H.I.T.I. patient and if I had waited it would be too late." Coulson wrapped his arms around himself. He was cold.

May picked up the control panel and turned up the heat. "You need to get help Phil. Clearly you're not in complete of control of your actions."

Coulson nodded in agreement. "I could see Andrew."

May shot him a sour look. She knew that he _has_ been seeing Andrew, but May pushed the grudge she had against Coulson out of her mind. _This_ Coulson doesn't know that she knows his secrets.

"If you think that would help." May said in a way so Coulson could hear her displeasure with the idea.

Coulson looked at May and held out his arms to reference the cell that he was in. "So how long am I in time out?"

May put the control back on its stand. "Twelve hours. Simmons says that should be enough time to get a read on your state of mind."

Coulson swallowed and adjusted his mouth. He was thirsty. "What if I need to carve?"

May sighed, and went to the table with a water basin, poured water into a plastic cup, and then walked over and touched a button on the control panel.

She bent down and set two things on the floor inside the cell as a small portion of the bottom of the wall opened up.

Coulson bent down and took the water and noticed the second thing: A black sharpie.

He picked it up and held it up for May to see. "Somehow I suspected that not even _I_ would be allowed sharp object in here."

May was done with this conversation. She turned away and walked to ward the stairs. "You'll have to draw on the walls for now, Phil." She said as she was ascending the stairs.


End file.
